Samsung Galaxy Note Review

We’ve got the Samsung Galaxy Note to review for you today. Samsung say that it’s the “Ultimate on-the-go device” and to say that it is powerful is probably the biggest understatement this year. The Galaxy Note sports a gigantic 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED display, a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and takes stunning photos and video with its 8MP Full HD 1080p camera.

With a retail price of £600, the Samsung Galaxy Note definitely isn’t cheap. However, it more than makes up for the price with its extremely slim line design, impressive hardware and the stunning visuals.

The Galaxy Note comes pre-installed with Android 2.3.5, but recent announcements state that the Galaxy Note will be receiving an upgrade to Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Display

The display on the Samsung Galaxy Note is quite honestly the best display I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. The HD Super AMOLED display is the first of its kind, with previous Samsung devices featuring just a Super AMOLED display.

The colours are extremely vibrant, blacks are very dark and deep, and despite it looking very large, the display is great for gaming, watching films and browsing the web.

The 5.3-inch display features a resolution of 800 x 1280, which is slightly larger than the resolution of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus we reviewed recently.

Buttons / Ports

Moving around the Galaxy Note we’ve got the volume rocker on the left-hand side, and the power / lock button on the right.

The top of the device is where the 3.5mm headphone jack is situated and also a microphone a few centimetres away.

The microUSB port is situated along the bottom of the Note, with another microphone on its right, as well as the included S Pen (stylus).

You’ve also got the physical home button at the bottom of the Galaxy Note, with one capacitive touch button located on either side.

Stylus

The stylus, despite being kind of old fashioned in the technology world, is actually very impressive and works very well. It features a button on the side, which when pressed and touched to the screen at the same time will take a screenshot on the Galaxy Note.

Its note writing ability is also very impressive, with it feeling very natural. We’ll get more into the stylus territory on the next page though.

Camera

First off, if you do end up buying the Samsung Galaxy Note, you’ll definitely be impressed with its photo and video taking ability. The camera quality is second to none and is also very quick and easy to use.

If we turn the Note over, the rear camera is located centrally at the top of the device. It is an advanced 8MP camera, which features a whole range of different settings and options. Some of which include Anti-shake, Scene mode, Exposure, Outdoor visibility, White balance and Auto contrast.

There’s also an LED flash located to the right.

Turning the Galaxy Note back over, you’ll notice the front-facing camera at the top. It’s a 2MP camera and is designed primarily for video calling.

Image Quality

Panoramic Image Quality

Full HD 1080p Video Recording Quality

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf_wHXNSQ34[/youtube]

As you can see, the quality of the still photos and the panoramic photo is absolutely stunning. The vibrancy of the colours and level of detail if brilliant and is on par, perhaps even better, than the Apple iPhone 4S camera.

The same goes for the 1080p video recording quality; the level of detail is incredibly impressive and the overall look of the video is better than most devices I’ve tested.